The Blues Festival Season here in California is a long one. We attended festivals from various parts of the state. The locales and vibe of these various festivals is as varied as the states unique geography. There were great festivals this year at the beach, in the mountains and in the desert. Big cities, suburbs and small towns hosted blues festivals that always make for a wonderful weekend of music. This photo essay is comprised of photos from Billy Wayne Turner, Alex Gardner, Mike Lovato, Chris Corbett, Brad Elligood, Leslie Hagins and a few shots from yours truly. Enjoy Festivales de California 2011.

Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival

 Lil' Ed (San Diego Blues Festival)

Dave & Phil Alvin (Doheny Blues Festival)

Andreas & Michael Arlt (Doheny Blues Festival)

Terry Hanck (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)
Rod Piazza (Doheny Blues Festival)

Rusty Zinn (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Roach (San Diego Blues Festival)

Pink Arguello (Irvine Lake Blues Festival)

Laura Chavez, Candye Kane & Kennan Shaw (La Quinta Blues and Brews)

Big Pete (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Alex Schultz & Kirk Fletcher (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Mitch 'da Switch' Dow & Barry G (Irvine Lake Blues Festival)

George Porter, Jr. & Brian Stoltz (Doheny Blues Festival)

Ana Popovic (Doheny Blues Festival)

 Dr. John (Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival)

Richard Innes & Larry Taylor (La Quinta Blues and Brews)

Karl Cabbage (Costa Mesa, CA)

Mitch Dow & Tommy Eliff (Costa Mesa, CA)

Michael Fell (Costa Mesa, CA)

Lil' A (Costa Mesa, CA)

Charlie Musselwhite (Doheny Blues Festival)

Lee Rocker (Doheny Blues Festival)

Mercedes Moore (San Diego Blues Festival)

John Nemeth (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Mike Turturro (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Robin Henkel (San Diego Blues Festival)

Larry Taylor & Junior Watson (La Quinta Blues and Brews)

Bernie Pearl (Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival)

Johnny Main & Kid Ramos (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Sugaray Rayford (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Brass Band (Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival)

 Guitar Shorty (Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival)

 Rick Estrin & Charlie Baty (San Joes Jazz Festival)

Mavis Staples & Stephen Hodges (Doheny Blues Festival)

Jimmy Zollo & Karl Cabbage (Costa Mesa, CA)

Anthony Contreras & Lil' A (Costa Mesa, CA)

Art Neville (Doheny Blues Festival)

Junior Watson, Al Blake, Larry Taylor & Fred Kaplan (La Quinta Blues and Brews)

Roy Gaines (Irvine Lake Blues Festival)

Russell Batiste, Jr. (Doheny Blues Festival)

Dave Alvin (Doheny Blues Festival)

Kid Ramos, Mike Molina, Jesus Cuevas & James Barrios (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)D

 Cesar Rosas, Terrance Simien & David Hidalgo (Doheny Blues Festival)

 Set List (Irvine Lake Blues Festival)

Al Blake (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

 Mitch 'da Switch' Dow & Al Factorman (Irvine Lake Blues Festival)

Cadillac Zack (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival

Mitch Kashmar (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival

Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival

Matt Daniels & Mikey Jr. (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Elvin Bishop (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Shawn Pittman (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

 Buckwheat Zydeco (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Mississippi Bo (Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Music Festival)

Lazy Lester (San Jose Jazz Festival)

Dr. John (Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival)